Children help transform art and assessment rooms at Bournemouth clinic

20th April 2017

Young people using Bournemouth’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) have turned to interior design and helped revamp a therapeutic art room and clinic areas.

Run by Dorset HealthCare, CAMHS supports young people up to the age of 18 (and their families) who are dealing with significant mental health problems.

Over time its clinic at Shelley Road in Boscombe became outdated and required minor repairs, and when planning to spruce them up, staff asked young service users to help chose the new décor.

The art room, where children paint and make crafts as part of their therapy, now boasts a fresh feel with new flooring, wall coverings and furniture.

The five clinic rooms next door have also been given a vibrant makeover. These are used to assess young people and conduct follow-up appointments.

Shelley Clinic Project and Support Manager Toot Carney-Smith said: “The new-look art and clinic rooms are superb.

“They play such a vital role in the work we do and we wanted to make them a calming and comfortable environment for our young service users.”

The Shelley Clinic sees around 150 patients a month, and has received around 10,000 referrals over the last six years for children across Bournemouth and Christchurch.

Toot added: “The work was funded through charitable funds, and is a great example of money donated to the Trust going to good use.

“We have had lots of positive feedback from young people and their families who thought the original rooms felt drab, boring and a bit clinical.

“All we hear now is comments on how comfortable, clean and colourful the facility is, and this type of feedback is really encouraging.”

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